


Cannoli Fries

by bananasinthesunshine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coffeeshop AU, Fluff, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, au - food truck, barista keith, food truck au, klance, summer job, the food truck fic no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-24 04:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10734096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananasinthesunshine/pseuds/bananasinthesunshine
Summary: Hunk and Lance have a food truck, and Lance keeps giving free food to barista Keith, who works down the street.





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright Hunk, we have a line. Are you ready to open?” Lance called back to his friend who was hovering over the oven like it was his child.

“Almost, let me get one more round of waffles started, then we can open. How many people are there?” 

Lance poked his head through the blinds over the counter window, squinting as the bright light hit the dark interior. “I dunno, maybe 25, 30? It’s noon, Hunk! We need to open!”

Hunk set aside his finished waffles and turned to Lance.

“Alright, if it’s time, I have a few words to say.” Lance groaned, rolling his eyes. “Owning this truck was never my dream, but when we stumbled onto it in at the garbage yard a month ago it found its’ way into my heart, and yours. Now, let’s serve some good food and make some people happy. Open the window!” 

Lance beamed at Hunk, who couldn’t stop smiling as he turned back to his stovetop. “Let’s do this! The Yellow Lion is open for business!” Lance threw open the window above the ordering counter and waved to the crowd outside while Hunk pushed open the entire side, opening the inside up to the light.

“We’re open! Come taste the finest cannolis on the beach!”

 

~

 

Keith was enjoying his usual peaceful walk along the beach when he heard yelling from the parking lot up ahead. 

A crowd was gathered around what looked to be an old mobile home of some sort, painted bright yellow and blue. There were two people inside, one chatting with customers in line, and the other hollering out completed orders, spinning in circles to check on other stations.

“Classic fries for Jerry!” He spun to scoop a handful of waffle fries into a basket and handed it to, presumably Jerry. He spun again, grabbing another basket, fries, and some sort of dip, drizzled something dark on top and coated it with sprinkles. “Yellow Lion Special for Denise!” 

Somehow, Keith found himself walking toward the truck, the smells drawing him in on top of the cheerful demeanor of the chef. 

The boy at the ordering window, he had to be about Keith’s age, was scribbling something on a notepad and tearing it out while smiling at the girl in front of him. “One half classic with extra drizz!” he called out, clipping the paper to a line above his head and shoving it toward the chef.

He looked up as the girl moved down to the other end of the truck, and his eyes, his blue eyes, meth Keith’s, and winked, his smile broadening. Keith could feel his cheeks heat up, but couldn’t tear his eyes away until the next customer in line stole the cannoli boy’s attention. 

The buzz of his phone in his pocket reminded Keith that he needed to get back to work soon, and reluctantly he turned his back on the cannoli boy and headed back to work, just barely punching in at the last minute of his break.

 

~

 

“And the last order of the evening, one Classic Cannoli Fry basket, for one lovely Miss Allura!” Hunk called out, and Allura smiled up at him. 

“These smell amazing Hunk, the whole beach has smelled great all day!” 

“Why, thank you. We were certainly busier than I planned, I guess the breeze helped promote us.”

“Free advertising!” Lance called from the register where he was piling receipts and bagging their profit. His eyes kept wandering, though, back to the boardwalk where he had seen someone earlier, a boy with a horrendous mullet. 

“Exactly! This is why I knew the beach would be the perfect location for us - lots of hungry people and easy promotion!”

“Well, let me know if you boys want me to hang a sign at the coffeeshop, I’m sure Shiro won’t mind,” Allura offered around a mouthful of waffle. 

“As soon as I get one printed I let you know,” Hunk promised, trying not to laugh. Allura nodded and smiled, waving as she headed back to work. “Hey Lance, are you almost ready to close it up?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m nearly done!” He hastily shoved all the excess cash from the register into a bag, and put the receipts in an old shoebox labeled “Important Shit.” As great a chef as Hunk was, he wasn’t much for organization. 

“Alright, ready to go!” Lance locked the cash drawer and shut off the register. Deposit bag zipped in his backpack, he followed Hunk out the back door of the truck, Hunk locking it behind them. 

“So how many cannoli fry baskets did we sell on our very first day, Chef Hunk?” 

“A lot more than I expected, but nothing we weren’t prepared for. It looks like we sold… almost 300 in 5 hours. I was expecting  _ maybe _ 150, 200 if we were lucky. But this is incredible! I’m going to have to make more cheese dip tonight, we barely scraped by there. Hey, what are you staring at? You’ve been zoning out since we closed.”

Lance shook his head, turning away from the beach to face his friend. “Nothing, nothing at all. Hey, did you see a kid with a mullet at the truck?”

“A kid with a mullet? Like a small child who’s parents should be fined for letting their spawn have such an awful haircut?”

“Not a child kid, like a college-kid, a kid our age, silly.”

“Nope, can’t say I did. Did you?” Hunk asked, side-eyeing Lance who may have blushed a little bit.

“Maybe. And besides the mullet he was cute.”

“You thought the mullet was cute.”

“NO! Mullets aren’t cute.”

“Liar, you think mullets are adorable.”

“Hunk, if you do not shut up about mullets you’re going to have to find a new business partner.”

“Alright, alright!” Hunk laughed, hands in the air. “I’ll leave you alone about your mullet crush. But if you see him again you have to point him out!”

“Yeah, okay. If he shows up tomorrow I’ll point him out. Now can we please go home? I smell like waffles and ricotta cheese and chocolate drizzle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-dah! I saw the picture and couldn't stop thinking about it, so now this exists. Thanks all ♥
> 
> Also fun-fact the singular of cannoli is actually cannolo. Cannoli is plural by default.
> 
> Part 2 should be up in the next day or two!


	2. Chapter 2

Keith was up at the crack of dawn, again. 5:30 AM came far too early each morning, but at least he didn’t have to be at work at 4, like the openers. 6 AM was plenty early for him, thank you very much. He wasn’t sure how Shiro did it every day, but Keith was just glad he didn’t have to.

His apartment, just off campus of the local state college, was a ten minute walk to Starbucks, and the beach. Keith didn’t have any particularly strong feelings about the ocean, he wasn’t really a swimmer or a beach guy, being inside suited him just fine, but it was nice to walk along occasionally, and there was always good people watching, like the cannoli boy…

He shook his head, trying to clear the boy out of it. Grabbing his apron and keys from the table by the door, he headed out and down two flights of stairs to knock on door 404.

“I’m commin, hold on,” a voice came from the other side, sounding very tired. Keith stretched his arms above his head, yawning, waiting for the door to open.

When it did, a mess of curly light brown hair came through, a Redbull in one hand, the signature green apron tucked into a bag in the other hand.

“PLEASE don’t kick the door shu-!” Pidge kicked the door shut, chuckling at Matt’s yell, and followed Keith towards the exit. 

“It’s 5:45, how can you stomach Redbull this early? I think I’d barf.”

“Early? I’ve been up all night, Keith.  _ Some _ of us still have classes, even in the summer.”

“Eww,” Keith pulled the front door of their complex open and squinted as the early morning sunlight hit his face. “Eww, sunlight.”

Pidge pulled the hood of her sweatshirt down over her eyes, and took a swig of the energy drink.

Keith and Pidge had walked to work together nearly every day since Keith had started at Starbucks at the beginning of the summer, about a month ago. Pidge had been working there off and on since high school. Matt, her brother, was friends with the manager, Shiro, and got her the job when she wouldn’t stop complaining about how expensive her computer parts were. Keith asked her to get him an interview when his rent went up, and his scholarship from the school would no longer cover his living costs. Being a barista wasn’t exactly in his career plans, but a summer job never hurt anyone. And besides, free coffee was one of the best perks you can get from a minimum-wage job.

“Good morning, Keith! Good morning, Pidge!” came Shiro’s far-too-cheerful voice as they walked in the front door. 

“Quad tall americano with white mocha,” Pidge grumbled as she slunk around the corner, passing through the swinging door into the backroom. Keith could hear Shiro laugh from the bar as he followed Pidge to the back to punch-in. 

“If Pidge is on about four shots, with a redbull, before even punching in I don’t want to know how late she was up,” Shiro said, poking back around the door, Pidge’s coffee in hand. She mumbled a thank you as she pulled her apron over her head. 

“Let’s just get the day over with. I’m ready for a nap.” Keith nodded, yawning, which caused Pidge and Shiro to both yawn in response.

“Nope, no yawning kiddo. Let’s get some coffee in you, then you’ll be on register.” Keith nodded, fishing a sharpie out of his pocket, then he and Pidge followed Shiro back up to the front of the store.

 

Allura showed up just after the morning rush, travel mug of tea already in hand, and a stack of papers under her arm. She was technically the assistant store manager, but she did most of the paperwork and inventory stuff, while Shiro handled the people and customers. She should have had her own store by now, but there weren’t any openings in their district, so she and Shiro pretty much shared this one.

“Good morning, Keith! How’s it been so far?” She was riffling through her papers off to the side of the register, Keith up to his arms in pastries, restocking the display case. 

“Pretty good so far, a bit busy for a Wednesday, but Pidge has been killing it on bar.” She perked up when he said her name.

“Damn right I am,” she called out, Allura making a face, and Pidge immediately whispering an apology for her language, ducking back behind the bar and fiddling with the steam wand, red rising in her cheeks.

“Did you see that new food truck out there? The cannoli one? An old college friend of mine started it, and it’s very delicious.” 

Keith’s head shot up so fast he hit it against the top of the pastry case.

“Are you okay? That looked like it hurt.” Keith pulled himself out of the case and rubbed the top of his head. He was sure a bump was going to form.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You know the guys at the food truck? I walked past it on my break yesterday.”

“Oh, yes. I’m good friends with Hunk, it’s his truck, but I don’t know Lance as well, apparently he and Hunk grew up together. He seems like a sweet boy though. I know I’m going to end up going there far too often.” Keith nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it smelled incredible yesterday, but the line was too long.”

“We should stop by after work!” Pidge said, walking down to join the conversation, blush having mostly faded. “I’m sure Matt would like it if we brought some home for him, too.” She was rocking up on her toes now, going back and forth like a pendulum. 

“Sure, sounds good. We can stop by after work. I wanted to try it anyway,” Keith responded, and Allura clapped her hands together.

“Excellent! Hunk said he’d have a sign for us to hang up in here, as well, to help them get the business started. If you can grab that for me while you’re there, that would be excellent!”

“Of course we can! Are you sure you don’t want to come, Allura?”

“Oh no, if I go there I’m going to end up eating more cannoli fries than is good for me. Once or twice a week will be plenty. Pidge, why don’t you go grab Shiro and we’ll get some breaks going now that I’m here.”  

Pidge headed into the backroom to Shiro’s office while Allura pulled on her apron and got punched in. Shiro came back up front and Pidge went off on break, and they were soon hit with a line of customers. Keith told himself to put the cannoli truck and the blue-eyed boy, Lance, out of his head. At least until after work.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, put off the meeting till next chapter, but at least now we have all our characters in play!
> 
> Thanks so much for the love guys, I should have the next chapter out by the end of the weekend ♥
> 
> Come chat with me on tumblr at fahc-fae.tumblr.com if you wanna ☺


	3. Chapter 3

Day two of The Yellow Lion wasn’t quite as busy as the first day, the line didn’t stretch quite as far down the beach as it had yesterday, but the customers still kept Lance on his toes.

Today a lot of returning customers were eager to try something new, something different from plain cannoli fries, and Hunk was delighted.

“So the regular basket is just the fries and dip, right?” the girl at the front of the line was craning her neck, trying to read Hunk’s hastily scrawled menu board, “but what flavors can I add? Do you have hazelnut?”

“We’re not Starbucks, we don’t have every flavor under the sun,” Lance tried to keep the scowl off his face, “We’ve got a couple different drizzles, though. Chocolate, caramel, and strawberry, and different toppings, too. My favorites are the gummy bears and sprinkles, but we have cookie dough, chocolate chips, and strawberries, too.”

“Oh, strawberry sounds good. Can I get the classic basket with strawberry drizzle and strawberries, please?”

“Sure thing, that’ll be $7.50.” She counted out her change while Lance wrote the order down and clipped it to the line above his head, sending it back to Hunk, who was assembling baskets. 

They’d agreed pretty early on in the planning stages for The Yellow Lion that Hunk would be the cook, he was the best at it, and Lance had to deal with the people. He was pretty good with money, and very charming when he wanted to be, so although they planned to sometimes switch spots, neither of them thought it would happen very often. 

The food truck was Hunk’s baby, and to keep with the metaphor, his parenting involved a lot of spinning in circles to find toppings and gently layer them on top of the sweet cheese and chocolate dip, and swirl delicate streams of various drizzles over his perfectly-cooked waffle fries, which he somehow always knew when to start another batch of.

Lance was beyond impressed at how well Hunk kept up with orders. He was sure that if  _ he _ was the one in the kitchen, they’d have half as many done. 

“Hey, can I get the dipped basket with strawberries?” 

“Hi, Shiro! I’d recommend adding the chocolate drizzle to that, too. Gives you the  _ full _ chocolate experience,” Lance winked, scribbling Shiro’s order on the pad.

“Yeah, let’s do that then, you’re the professional. Hey, Allura said you guys have a sign for us to put up?” Lance clipped the order above his head and then turned to Hunk.

“Hey Hunk, did you get that sign made for Allura? Shiro’s here.” Hunk spun around, grabbing a drizzle bottle, and smiled cheerfully at Shiro.

“Classic basket with double strawberry for Janet! What’s up, Shiro, give me just a second, I have that sign here somewhere…” Hunk abandoned the kitchen for a moment, there weren’t any customers besides Shiro, for once, and went rummaging through his backpack.

“How’s business been for your first couple days?”

“Great! There have been a lot more people than we expected, especially yesterday, but we’ve been keeping up. Allura stopped by yesterday and said you guys could smell it from Starbucks.” Lance stepped over to the kitchen station, starting on Shiro’s basket, and Shiro followed him down to the pick-up window.

“Yeah, customers keep asking us what it is, so we’ve been sending them your way. A couple of my baristas are going to swing by when they get off, as well, to try some fries, Allura’s been raving about them all day.”Lance blushed, and he could see the back of Hunk’s neck turn red as well. 

“That’s so sweet of her! She seems like such a nice lady.” It was Shiro’s turn to blush.

“She really is,” he said, staring pointedly at the ground while Lance tried not to laugh at him. “She’s very kind, and a great worker as well. We’re very lucky that she’s sticking around at my store, even though if she went even a little ways out of the city she could have had her own store months ago. I’m glad she’s stayed, though.” Hunk popped back up from his backpack, a folder with laminated flyers in hand.

“Allura’s lovely, I’m so glad she stayed in the city when she graduated, I’d have missed her,” Hunk handed Shiro a couple of the flyers. “I know how your store can get sometimes, so there’s a couple extras for you,  _ and _ they’re laminated, so it’ll be even harder for you guys to wreck them.” Shiro laughed, his blush mostly gone, and he took both the proffered flyers and the basket of fries Lance handed him.

“These look incredible, Lance, and is that a smiley face you drew with the drizzle?”

“Yup!” Lance said proudly. “You should be very grateful, those normally cost extra.”

“Well, then thank you, oh incredible cannoli chef. I’ll treasure the smile always, at least until I eat it. I need to head home now, but I’ll get these hung up first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks again for doing that Shiro. We’ll see you later!” Hunk and Lance waved as Shiro headed down the boardwalk.

It was quarter to four, just an hour left of the work day, for The Yellow Lion, but the beach was very quiet, giving Lance and Hunk a chance to get everything wiped down and re-stocked.

“It’s been a good day, sales wise. It looks like we might have made even more today than yesterday, because of all those add-ons.”

“Definitely, the specials were a lot more popular today. If we add a couple more over the summer we can probably pull more sales out of those, too.” 

“Great idea, Lance! We should come up with some new combos, and we could even do limited time flavors once we’ve been open for a while. Hey, pass me a pen, would you? I want to write down the one Shiro got.” Lance tossed his pen at Hunk but it went wide, flying out the pick-up window.

“Oops…” 

“Lance!”

“Sorry, Hunk…”

“I’ll go get it, you empty out the frying grease.”

“Ewwwww, but it’s so gross!” Hunk’s glare sent Lance into silence, and Hunk walked out of the food truck, towards the pen. Lance turned to the grease trap with a disgusted expression. It wasn’t worth it.

 

~

 

Pidge was practically bouncing as they walked down the boardwalk towards the bright blue and yellow food truck.

“Maybe go easy on the caffeine, kid, you haven’t stopped moving all day.” Pidge shot Keith a glare, not changing anything.

“It’s either this or I’ll fall asleep and make you carry me home. So I think YOU should calm down.”

“Yeah, alright, fine. But I would carry you home if I had to.” Pidge got a glint in her eye, turning to look at Keith, stopping in her tracks. Keith stopped,too.

“Well in that case, I’m going to have to make that a regular thing. Want to try it now?”

Keith crouched down with a sigh, and Pidge clambered onto his back with a giant smile of childlike glee, legs wrapped around his waist and arms around his shoulders. Keith stood up carefully, and cautiously started walking again. Pidge was pretty small for 19, but Keith was also pretty small for 21, and they were nearly the same size. 

“I like being taller than you, we should do this more often.”

“Or you can carry me home next time,” Keith suggested, and he could imagine the face Pidge made in response.

“Yeah right, that’s not going to happen. Hey look, no line!”

Keith looked up at the food truck, and caught the eyes of the chef, Hunk, who gave them an easy smile as they walked up.

“Hey, you must be Allura’s kids! Welcome to The Yellow Lion!” Pidge hopped down off of Keith’s back and ran up to the counter.

“Wow, it smells so good here!” 

“Thank you, I make it all myself! Have you ever had cannoli before?” Keith stood slightly behind Pidge, squinting at the messily written menu above the ordering window. 

“Nope, never heard of it, but Allura said it’s delicious.” Hunk laughed, and Keith heard a second laugh from the kitchen side of the truck.

“Allura’s too kind,” came the voice from the kitchen. “She’d say that even if it was shit, but she likes Hunk too much to be mean to him.” Hunk put on a hurt look, frowning at Lance as he walked over to the ordering window. “And who might you two be?” He glanced at Pidge, then locked eyes with Keith, who could feel the redness taking over his face. 

“I’m Pidge, and this is Keith. I guess you know we work with Allura and Shiro, then.” Lance nudged Hunk in the side, and Hunk’s eyes went wide, looking at Keith, then back to Lance.

“Oh, uh yes! Allura’s mentioned you, and Shiro stopped by earlier, he said you’d be swinging by after work. What can we get for you?” Hunk gestured up at the menu above their heads. “If you’re not familiar with cannoli I’d recommend the Classic Fry Basket, otherwise my favorite combo is the Yellow Lion Special.” Keith tore his eyes away from Lance’s, the other boy was smirking at him, and Keith felt overheated.

“Um, I’ll just have the Classic Fry Basket, then. Pidge?” He turned away from the truck, pretending to fumble with his wallet.

“Yeah, I’ll have the Classic Fry Basket as well.” Lance smiled, writing their orders down, even though there was no one else around, and sending them down the line to Hunk, who had moved back to his spot in the kitchen.

“Good choice, guys. The Classic is a classic for a reason.”

“Doesn’t it have to be old to be classic? You’ve only been open two days,” Pidge asked.

“It’s an instant classic, obviously,” Lance retorted. “And put your wallets away, these are on the house.” Keith looked up to try and protest, they’d just opened, he couldn’t be taking profit away from them, and Lance held a hand out to Keith’s face, a single warm, tan finger on his lips, shushing him. “Don’t argue, you won’t win with me,” he winked again, and Keith pulled back quickly, almost tripping. 

“If you say so!” Pidge said, cheerfully, obviously not about to pass up free food. She grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him down to the pick-up window rather forcefully. “Thanks, Lance!” He smiled at them, waved, and walked further into the truck, out of their vision.

Keith couldn’t seem to find his voice, but luckily Hunk and Pidge seemed to have no such problem, chatting cheerfully about the food truck, Starbucks, and, for some reason, robots.

“And here are your baskets! What do you think?” Pidge and Keith each took one, Pidge bouncing again.

Keith dipped a warm waffle fry in the cold cheese dip, and took a careful bite. After a moment he dipped it again and shoved the whole fry in his mouth.

Pidge was equally enraptured, dipping two fries at once, a giant smile on her face.

“These are delicious, Hunk! Wow!” Hunk smiled, pretending to wave off the praise.

“Oh, it’s nothing, wait till you try some of the ideas I have for specials coming up! I’m glad you like them though.” Keith nodded in agreement with Pidge, and managed to form some words into a cohesive sentence.

“They’re really good, Hunk. Cannoli fries were such a great idea.”  

“Thanks, Keith. I’m really glad you both like them.” Lance still hadn’t re-appeared, and Keith kept glancing over at the ordering window.

“Oh yeah, Hunk, Allura said you had posters for the store?”

“Shiro was here earlier, so I gave them to him. Sorry you came all this way, I guess you couldn’t have known he got them though.”

“That’s alright, I’m glad we stopped by anyway, now we know how good the cannoli is!” Pidge said cheerfully. “Can I get one more Classic Basket? I told my brother I’d bring some home for him. I can pay for it.” Hunk waved off her proffered money.

“Don’t worry about it, first basket is always on the house for friends.” Hunk pulled together another basket for them, wrapping it in tinfoil so it would be easier for them to bring home, and waved them off, after making them promise to come back and visit again.

Once they were about a block away, Pidge couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

“What is it?” Keith had finally managed to get rid of his blush, but the words came out harsher than he had meant them.

“You have the world’s largest crush on the cannoli boy! I saw the eyes you were making at him, you’ve never been redder in your entire life!” There were tears of mirth in her eyes, and the laughter wouldn’t stop. Keith went bright red again despite himself.

“I do NOT. I don’t even know him. Pidge if you say a single word to Matt…” Pidge paused for a moment to catch her breath, giggling a bit still. Keith tried to give her his most threatening glare.

“Okay, okay, I won’t tell him. But you’ve GOT to give Lance your number. If I have to watch you fail at flirting again I’ll need to do it myself.”

“PIDGE DON’T YOU DARE!” Pidge took off running down the sidewalk, laughter trailing back behind her. Keith sighed, then followed her toward their apartment building, arriving seconds behind her, both of them laughing and leaning against the outside wall.

“Okay, fine,” Pidge huffed out in between gasps of air, “but you’ve got to actually talk to him tomorrow, okay?”

“Fine, I will. I’ll stop by on my break. But you’ve got to not bring it up again, okay?” Pidge nodded, then fished out her keys, and they headed up to her and Matt’s apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, this chapter is so long! It really should have been two, but I promised they would meet in this chapter, and Shiro just took up so much time, so I made it a double. 
> 
> Thank you so much everyone who's been leaving comments and kudos, y'all make me so happy and excited to write more. ♥  
> Also I put up an outline of the menu board on my tumblr if you want to check it out (https://fahc-fae.tumblr.com/post/160174682549/the-yellow-lion-menu-board) ☺


	4. Chapter 4

“We’re home!” Pidge called out, bursting into the apartment and the door slamming into the wall.

“Stop breaking the apartment!” Matt called back from the living room. With a dramatic sigh, Pidge toed off her shoes and very gently shut the front door of the apartment, putting on a bit of a show for Keith’s benefit. 

“Okay, sure, whatever you say, Matt.” Keith followed her into the living room, where Matt was sat on the couch under a patchwork quilt, some HGTV crap on the tv. “I brought you something.” 

Pidge held out the tinfoil-wrapped cannoli basket, which Matt eyed skeptically. He carefully took it out of her hands as she plopped down next to him, pulling some of his blanket over her. Keith sat on the armchair adjacent to them.

Matt unfolded the tinfoil and his eyes lit up as the still-warm waffles and slightly-melted dip were revealed, and Keith took in a deep breath, the smell of cannoli filling the small room.

“What is this, Pidge? It looks delicious!” She smiled up at him.

“Just try it, it’s good, I promise!” Matt dipped a waffle into the dip and took a hesitant bite. “A new food truck opened up on the beach, just a block down from us, and we’ve been smelling it all day. And the guy who runs it is friends with Allura, so he gave us a couple baskets to try free!”

“Is this dip cheese?” Matt held up a half-eaten waffle, one eyebrow raised. “That’s a bit non-traditional.”

“It’s Italian, or something,” Keith chimed in, wrapping his arms around his legs, chin resting on his knees. “They’re cannoli fries, a variation on regular cannoli. So really just waffle fries with a sweet dip and toppings, like ice cream toppings.” Matt clutched a hand to his chest dramatically.

“And you didn’t get me any toppings? When you know I am the  _ king _ of toppings? Betrayed, backstabbed by my own family!” He threw an arm across his face, leaning back and closing his eyes. “I can’t bear to go on!” Pidge giggled and pulled his arm away, wrapping herself under it.

“If you die you can’t finish eating this one! And next time we’ll get you toppings, promise.”

Looking satisfied, Matt came back to life and shoved another fry in his mouth, smiling.

“Shiro asked about you today, he wanted to know if he can come visit sometime soon. He said something sappy about missing his best friend or something. Apparently you’re crap about texting him back.” Keith kept his eyes focused on the floor, away from Matt.

“I mean, yeah, I guess if he wants to. I’ll text him back so he stops using you two as a go-between, sorry guys.”

“I don’t mind!” Pidge said with extra cheerfulness. “I only have one class tomorrow, and I’m not working, so we can get this place tidied up and looking homey before we have guests over.”

“Hey, am I not a guest? I don’t live here and the place always looks like this when I’m here,” Keith interjected, gesturing to the mess of take out boxes and socks and DVD cases all over the floor.

“You’re family, bro. And Shiro is too, I guess. He just hasn’t been around much lately, what with all that’s, you know…” Keith nodded, and Pidge leaned into Matt and he rubbed her shoulder.

“You know he’ll understand, he’s been your best friend for ages. Don’t worry about it, Matt. It’ll be fine.”

He nodded, a silence falling over the group. After a minute Matt picked up the remote and turned up the volume, a re-run of House Hunters filling the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry about how long this has taken to go up, and how short it is. I've been travelling almost non-stop for the last two weeks, but I'm finally home for a while and ready to get back to it!
> 
> The next chapter should be up before the weekend. Thank you all for the love, you're the best ♥


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey Hunk, when do we get days off?” Lance was sat on a stool he brought from home, elbows resting on the order counter as Hunk prepared the day’s food about fifteen minutes before open.

“Uhhhh, that’s a great question, Lance. I guess I didn’t think about that. I kind of figured I’d be here everyday this summer, and I guess I just thought you would, too?”

“Not to complain, because I love you man, I really do, but a day or two off each week would be sweet. It’s almost like that should be a normal thing, like a… A weekend?”

“Lance…”

“Hey, I get it. You’re excited about The Yellow Lion. And I am too! And this first week or two I’m totally down with working everyday. But after that… We can’t do this forever. We either need a day or two to be closed or…

“Lance…”

“I’m just saying! You could hire another person or two and it would give us more hours we could be open, and we could be open everyday without worrying about labor laws or anything.” Hunk’s glare over the waffle irons made Lance scooch his stool further away from the kitchen area. “I’m just saying. I know you want this to be the two of us, and I do too!”

“I know, Lance. But we literally just opened. Let’s not be changing too much too fast. It’s been two days. And I’ll try and figure out a good day for us to be closed in the meantime. I just don’t want another person throwing off our balance, you know? We work well together and I don’t want this place to have a ‘workplace dynamic’ with ‘workplace drama,’ you feel?”

“Yeah, I feel that. And I’m definitely with you on it, drama sucks. But if we choose the right person, or two, we could still keep this place chill. That’s all I’m saying. Just think about it.” Hunk nodded, turning back to the food preparation.

“I will, but until we’re pretty well established, a full week or two, I don’t want to change anything. But I’ll think about it, Lance, promise.”

 

~

 

Keith stretched his arms above his head, fingers laced together, and let out a long yawn. The smell of coffee floated into the living room from the kitchen where Pidge was making breakfast, and Matt’s light snores came from the couch where he was still sound asleep. 

Carefully lifting himself out of the armchair, trying to keep quiet, Keith walked into the kitchen, smiling at Pidge and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Sorry you had to sleep in the chair, you could have gone up to your place,” Pidge said, in a hushed tone.”

“I don’t mind, it was nice to hang out with you guys. And I’ve definitely slept worse places before.” Pidge grimaced but Keith kept talking. “Matt seemed like he wanted the company, he got pretty chatty after you went to bed, and I didn’t want him to, you know, close back in.” She nodded, not looking at Keith, and flipped a pancake.

“Yeah, he won’t talk to me about it much, even when I ask. And I try not to ask but it’s so obvious he’s been struggling. And I have you and Allura and even Shiro to talk to, but I just want to talk to him about it, he’s the only one I really  _ can _ talk to about it, you know? And I appreciate all you guys do for us, but, I mean, I just…” She started getting choked up and trailed off. Keith walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. 

“I know, Pidge, you just want him to be your brother, be there for you. And he will, he just needs to process in his own time, his own way. And hopefully talking to Shiro again will help.” She nodded against his chest, and after a moment leaned away to wipe away the few tears that escaped, and Keith let go of her. She tried to smile.

“Uh, Keith, we left the burner on.”

 

~

 

Despite it being both of their days off, Pidge and Keith somehow found themselves back at Starbucks. Pidge had decided she needed a break from homework, not that she had been doing anything productive, and Keith had nothing better to do. They went the long way, stopping at both Gamestop and Barnes and Noble, but talking each other out of various impulse purchases, and eventually made it to sit at the bar and critique Shiro’s latte skills.

“You didn’t foam that long enough, it’s supposed to be ten seconds.”

“That espresso sat for too long, it’s gonna go bitter and ruin the drink.”

“Shiro, you forgot about the frappuccino in the blender, it’s been sitting there for two minutes.”

“Hey, the milk belongs in the cup, not all over the counter.”

Eventually Shiro turned to glare at the two, who could barely contain their giggles.

“If you’re just going to pick on me you can either get aprons on and get back here, or buy something and leave. It’s your day off, kids, go enjoy the summer! Stop bullying me and get out of here or I’ll put you to work.” Pidge perked up.

“Oh yeah, we had a real reason to come here! Matt wanted to know if you wanted to come over today. He said he would text you, but I don’t trust him to actually remember to do that.”

A smile spread over Shiro’s face, but he didn’t say anything until he finished the two drinks he had in line.

“Yeah, that would be good. I haven’t seen him for a couple months, it’ll be nice to catch up. Did he say what time would be best, or…?”

“Whenever you get off work should be fine, Keith and I can walk back with you so we can let you into the building.” Keith nodded, glancing at the time. They still had another hour and a half till Shiro was done.

“That works fine for me, I’ll text you when I’m ready to leave, then. Now get out of here before I chain you to an espresso machine.”

“Alright, we’re leaving, let’s go, Pidge,” Keith got off his stool and pulled Pidge along behind him.”

“Bye, Shiro! Bye Allura!” Allura waved from the register and Shiro smiled as they left the store, heading towards the beach. “Alright, time to go see your boyfriend.” 

“My what now?”

“Oh come on, Keith. The cannoli boy. Lance. I’m sure he’s excited to see you, too!”

“Pidge, please. He’s not my, you know, we haven’t even had a conversation!” She had a smirk on her face as they headed towards the food truck, the sweet smell of cannoli filling the air. “I’m begging you, DO NOT say anything to him about this, okay? Not a word.”

Pidge zipped her lips, the smirk still there. Keith groaned.

“Look who’s back, my favorite baristas!” Lance called out around the three people in line, who all turned to look at them, Keith turning red.

“Hi Lance!” Pidge called out, Keith awkwardly waving. They got in line, Pidge smiling at everyone around them, Keith refusing to look up from the ground, trying desperately to get the heat to leave his face. 

“Alright, what can I get for you two lovely people today?” Lance smiled at them, and Pidge leaned on the counter as if she did this everyday, Keith barely able to look at Lance before pretending to fish around in his wallet. 

“Hmmm, the classic basket yesterday was pretty good, but I’m looking for something different today,” Pidge started. “I’m thinking… Gummy bears, maybe?”

“Oh yeah, I can go with that,” Lance nodded, scribbling on his notepad. “But do you want to go a bit crazier?” Pidge’s eyes went wide.

“Of course I do!”

“Alright, if we’re going with gummy bears we can also throw some sprinkles in there, and make it a whole rainbow fest. How’s that sound?” Pidge nodded, still smiling.

“That sounds great, I’ll take it. Also, I gave my brother the other one yesterday, and while he liked it…”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Lance interjected, a frown disrupting his incredible smile. Keith pointedly stared at the menu board. “What was wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing was wrong. He’s just the self-declared king of toppings, and we didn’t have any toppings on it. So I think he needs, like…”

“I’ve got you, a basket with all the toppings and drizzles and extras that will fit?”

“Yes, exactly!” Pidge clapped her hands together, bouncing on her toes. “Matt will love it.”

“Perfect!” Lance noted that on his pad, and clipped both Pidge and Matt’s sheets to the rope above his head and sent them down to Hunk, who had waved at them when they had gotten to the counter and then turned back to his work. “And for you, Keith?” Lance looked directly at him, and Keith immediately forgot whatever he had absorbed from the menu.

“Um, I’m not sure, there are a lot of options.” Thankfully there was no one behind them, so Keith didn’t feel too bad about being indecisive, even though just thirty seconds ago he had a plan.

“How about you recommend something, Lance! I’m sure Keith will like it,  _ right _ Keith?” Pidge elbowed him in the side, and Keith decided that he should probably just paint himself red at this point.

“Yeah, okay. Whatever you recommend works for me. It seems like you did a good job with what Pidge wanted.”

“I can for sure do that!” Lance’s smile had returned. “I’m thinking… Caramel. And maybe something extra.” Keith nodded and Lance wrote down the order, sending it along to Hunk. “Alright, are you guys paying together or?” 

“I’ve got the first two, Keith is on his own.” Pidge pulled out her wallet and paid for her and Matt’s baskets, and then walked down to the hand-off counter to chat with Hunk. Keith stepped up to the counter.

“Alright, one basket with caramel and cookie dough, you’re all set, Keith!” 

“But… I haven’t paid?” Lance winked at him.

“It’s on the house today. For taking my suggestion.” Lance slid an order sheet across the counter to him, face down. “This is for you as well.” As Keith picked it up Lance smiled at him, finger in front of his lips, and spun to go help Hunk in the kitchen.

Lance’s handwriting was messy and smudged, but Keith couldn’t help but smile.

_ ‘Call me! =)’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still Friday where I am, so this is up *technically* before the weekend!  
> Also to make up for the last chapter this one is quite a bit longer, I hope you all enjoy! We're finally getting into some ~real plot~ and I'm really excited for the next couple chapters.   
> As always, thank you so much to everyone who leaves kudos and comments, y'all make me so unbelievably happy ♥


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